How to Write a Thesis Statement
What is a Thesis Statement?
Almost all of us--even if we don't do it consciously--look early in an essay for a one- or twosentence statement that is the main idea to follow. We refer to that condensation as a thesis
statement.
Why Should Your Essay Contain A Thesis Statement?
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To test your ideas by distilling them into a sentence or two
To better organize and develop your argument
To provide your reader with a "guide" to your argument
How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is Assigned.
Almost all assignments, no matter how complicated, can be reduced to a single question.
Your first step, then, is to distill the assignment into a specific question. For example, if your
assignment is "Write a report to the local school board explaining the potential benefits of
using computers in a fourth-grade class," turn the request into a question like "What are
the potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade class?" After you've chosen the
question your essay will answer, compose one or two complete sentences answering that
question.
Q: "What are the potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade class?"
A: "The potential benefits of using computers in a fourth-grade class are . . . ."
The answer to the question is the thesis statement for the essay. The thesis statement
should not be a question.
How to Generate a Thesis Statement if the Topic is Not Assigned
Even if your assignment doesn't ask a specific question, your thesis statement still needs to
answer a question about the issue you'd like to explore. In this situation, your job is to
figure out what question you'd like to write about. Let's see how to generate a thesis
statement for a social policy paper.
1. Brainstorm the topic.
Let's say that your class focuses upon the problems posed by drug addiction. You
find that you are interested in the problems of meth babies, babies born to mothers
addicted to methamphetamines.
You start out with a thesis statement like this:
Meth babies.
This fragment isn't a thesis statement. Instead, it simply indicates a general subject.
Furthermore, your reader doesn't know what you want to say about meth babies.
2. Narrow the topic
Your readings about the topic, however, have led you to the conclusion that not only
do these babies have a difficult time surviving premature births and withdrawal
symptoms, but their lives will be even harder as they grow up because they are
likely to be raised in an environment of poverty and neglect. You think that there
should be programs to help these children.
You change your thesis to look like this:
Programs for meth babies.
This fragment not only announces your subject, but it focuses on one main idea:
programs. Furthermore, it raises a subject upon which reasonable people could disagree,
because while most people might agree that something needs to be done for these children,
not everyone would agree on what should be done or who should do it. You should note
that this fragment is not a thesis statement because your reader doesn't know your
conclusions on the topic.
3. Take a position on the topic.
After reflecting on the topic a little while longer, you decide that what you really
want to say about this topic is that in addition to programs for meth babies, the
government should develop programs to help meth children cope and compete.
You revise your thesis to look like this:
More attention should be paid to the environment meth kids grow up in.
This statement asserts your position, but the terms more attention and the
environment are vague.
4. Use specific language.
You decide to explain what you mean about "the environment," so you write:
Experts estimate that half of meth babies will grow up in home environments
lacking rich cognitive and emotional stimulation.
This statement is specific, but it isn't a thesis. It merely reports a statistic instead of
making an assertion.
5. Make an assertion based on clearly stated support.
You finally revise your thesis statement one more time to look like this:
Because half of all meth babies are likely to grow up in homes lacking good
cognitive and emotional stimulation, the federal government should finance
programs to supplement parental care for meth kids.
Notice how the thesis answers the question, "Why should anything be done for meth kids,
and who should do it?" When you started thinking about the paper, you may not have had a
specific question in mind, but as you became more involved in the topic, your ideas became
more specific. Your thesis changed to reflect your new insights.
How to Tell a Strong Thesis Sentence from a Weak One
1. A strong thesis takes some sort of stand.
Remember that your thesis needs to show your conclusions about a subject. For example, if
you are writing a paper for a class on fitness, you might be asked to choose a popular
weight-loss product to evaluate. Here are two thesis statements:
There are some negative and positive aspects to the Banana Herb Tea
Supplement.
This is a weak thesis. First, it fails to take a stand. Second, the phrase "negative and
positive aspects" is vague.
Because Banana Herb Tea Supplement promotes rapid weight loss that results
in the loss of muscle and lean body mass, it poses a potential danger to
customers.
This is a strong thesis because it takes a stand.
2. A strong thesis justifies discussion.
Your thesis should indicate the point of the discussion. If your assignment is to write a
paper on kinship systems, using your own family as an example, you might come up with
either of these two thesis statements:
My family is an extended family.
This is a weak thesis because it states an observation. Your reader won't be able to tell the
point of the statement, and will probably stop reading.
While most American families would view consanguineal marriage (marriage
to cousins) as a threat to the nuclear family structure, many Iranian families,
like my own, believe that these marriages help reinforce kinship ties in an
extended family.
This is a strong thesis because it shows how your experience contradicts a widelyaccepted view. A good strategy for creating a strong thesis is to show that the topic is
controversial. Readers will be interested in reading the rest of the essay to see how you
support your point.
3. A strong thesis expresses one main idea.
Readers need to be able to see that your paper has one main point. If your thesis expresses
more than one idea, then you might confuse your readers about the subject of your paper.
For example:
Companies need to exploit the marketing potential of the Internet, and web
pages can provide both advertising and customer support.
This is a weak thesis statement because the reader can't decide whether the paper is
about marketing on the Internet or web pages. To revise the thesis, the relationship
between the two ideas needs to become clearer. One way to revise the thesis would be to
write:
Because the Internet is filled with tremendous marketing potential, companies
should exploit this potential by using web pages that offer both advertising and
customer support.
This is a strong thesis because it shows that the two ideas are related. Hint: a great many
clear and engaging thesis statements contain words like "because," "since," "so,"
"although," "unless," and "however."
4. A strong thesis statement is specific.
A thesis statement should show exactly what your paper will be about, and will help you
keep your paper to a manageable topic. For example, if you write a paper on hunger, you
might say:
World hunger has many causes and effects.
This is a weak thesis statement for two major reasons. First, "world hunger" can't be
discussed thoroughly in five or ten pages. Second, "many causes and effects" is vague. You
should be able to identify specific causes and effects. A revised thesis might look like this:
Hunger persists in Appalachia because jobs are scarce and farming in the
infertile soil is rarely profitable.
This is a strong thesis because it narrows the subject to a more specific and manageable
topic and it also identifies the specific causes for the existence of hunger.